Old Willett’s Wharf on the East River promenade

ABOVE: Looking south along a newly opened section of the East River Park promenade, which the city debuted over the July 4th holiday. It now extends down underneath the Williamsburg Bridge and continues slightly south. This section along the water has been closed for what seems like eternity, but the city projects the entire promenade… Read More

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Staten Island History

‘Cropsey’: urban legend intersects with unspeakable crime at an abandoned Staten Island children’s institution

Above: Willowbrook State School in central Staten Island. Looks innocent enough…. BOWERY BOYS RECOMMEND is an occasional feature where we find an unusual movie or TV show that — whether by accident or design — uniquely captures an era of New York City as well as any reference or history book. Other entries in this… Read More

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Uncategorized

Xenon and the strange journey of a Broadway theater: Noel Coward, Fellini, porn, disco, ‘Cabaret’, Dame Edna

You know it’s a good night at Xenon when you’re drunk on the dance floor, and all of a sudden, the actress Valerie Perrine and the Village People appear (source) FRIDAY NIGHT FEVER To get you in the mood for the weekend, on occasional Fridays we’ll be featuring an old New York nightlife haunt, from… Read More

The World of Transportation 1918, via Grand Central

A Grand Central-centric Rand McNally map of transporation options in 1918, “the subway, elevated and surface lines” available for residents of Manhattan, the Bronx and Brooklyn. (Sorry, Queens. Your borough would not be extensively served by New York’s centralized train system for years.) For a much clearer view, click into the picture or click here… Read More

Little monsters overheads: gazing at New York gargoyles

Above: a freaky face hanging from the former mansion of Sinclair Oil tycoon Harry F. Sinclair (today, the Ukrainian Institute at 2 East 79th St.)Here’s a great little diversion for your day — the photo website Gargoyles of New York, cataloguing all the grotesque grace adorning the nooks and corners of city skyscrapers, cathedrals and… Read More

The stagecoach ‘flying machines’ from New York to Philly: when it’s your only choice, who cares about comfort?

Pic Courtesy NYPL Benjamin Franklin is, of course, awesome for many reasons. An often overlooked quality about Franklin in his early years was his ambition and fearlessness at solo traveling among the major cities along the eastern seaboard — from Boston to New York, then, in 1723, to Philadelphia. It can’t have been very easy;… Read More

George Steinbrenner: “Owning the Yankees is like owning the Mona Lisa.”

Above: George Steinbrenner and Billy Martin And another from the former New York Yankees owner, who died of a heart attack today: “As I’ve always said, the way New Yorkers back us we have to produce for them.” Photo courtesy AP

Categories
Podcasts

New York City’s Elevated Railroads: Journey to a spectacular world of steam trains along the avenues

Above: The Third Avenue Line as it looked running along the Bowery, changing the nature of New York street life, even as its innovations helped expand the city. PODCAST Before there were subways, New York City transported travelers up and down the length of Manhattan by elevated railroad, an almost unreal spectacle to consider today.… Read More

Broadway to go: the horrible commute that never was

Imagine seeing this monstrosity coast up and down Broadway — an elevated railway with cars carried both above and below the track. By the early 1850s, steam engines had revolutionized how people traveled. However, in the heart of densely populated New York, it would have been unfeasible for trains to just pull into town down… Read More

The hottest day in New York City history

New Yorkers flock to a public water fountain on a hot day. Taken between 1908 and 1915 I originally ran this story back in July 2007, but it seems pretty apt today, given the circumstances: Its gonna get hot this summer in New York City. Pretty obviously July is the worst month for those in… Read More

Happy Belated Birthday, P.T. Barnum!

Yesterday was Phineas Taylor Barnum‘s 200th birthday. Hopefully you did something outrageous to celebrate it. On top of renovating a railroad shed at Madison Square for one of his circuses (helping create the future Madison Square Garden), Barnum is most familiar to New Yorkers in the 19th century for his outrageous, moralistic, politically incorrect American… Read More

The ‘barbarous customs’ of a New York Fourth of July

Pic courtesy LOC The caption for the above 1894 illustration, looking back to headier days, reads: “Have we improved upon our manner of celebrating the Fourth? looking south on Broadway from corner of Cortlandt Street, 1834.” Here’s that view today; simply replace those buildings with Liberty Plaza. The proper classes agonized over New York’s Fourth… Read More

New York City aviation history and the beautiful ruins of Floyd Bennett Field

Photo by Sean Nowicke/Buzzstew Click pic for larger view Since I’m in a transportation history mindset this summer, I’ll be making it a personal mission to visit a lot of glorious New York ruins with that theme. Staten Island boat graveyard, here I come! But my first stop was a couple weekends ago, exploring the… Read More

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Uncategorized

Before South Street Seaport: The lovely mess on the waterfront

Manhattan waterfront property, from Thomas Edison, circa May 1903: an uninterrupted swell of piers, tugs and steamships jutting into the water, the skyline obscured at camera angle by towers of masts. This short film starts immediately north of the Battery Maritime Building (next to the Whitehall Ferry Terminal) and scans the entire waterfront up to… Read More

Raise a toast to Vice President Daniel D Tompkins, forever an East Villager

So I got caught in the rain yesterday afternoon and happened to be by St. Mark’s On The Bowery in the East Village, so I ran inside. And lo and behold, in the church yard, I stumbled upon the crypt marker of Daniel D Tompkins, who I just spoke about in this week’s podcast —… Read More